Electromagnetic and microwave absorbing properties of SmCo coated single-wall carbon nanotubes/NiZn-ferrite nanocrystalline composite

The electromagnetism and microwave absorption properties of SmCo coated single-wall carbon nanotubes (SmCo@SWCNTs) and Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 ferrite (NiZn-ferrite) nanocrystalline composites with different ingredient weight ratios were investigated in the frequency range of 2-18 GHz. SmCo@SWCNTs were prepared by a direct current arc discharge method. NiZn-ferrite nanocrystalline was synthesized by a sol-gel method. The electromagnetic properties of the nanocomposites in the paraffin matrix were measured by a vector network analyzer. The Debye equation and Bruggeman symmetric medium equation were introduced to explain the dielectric properties of the nanocomposites, and the mechanisms for the dielectric and magnetic losses were discussed. The experiment results reveal that the absorbing properties of the nanocomposites could be improved by tuning for a suitable weight ratio between SmCo@SWCNTs and NiZn-ferrite nanocrystallines. The reflection loss simulation calculations demonstrated that the nanocomposite could be excellent materials for microwave absorption. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.